HYDERABAD: Mohammed Sufiyan, 23-year-old from Narayanpet district, is the second youth from Telangana to find himself caught in the Russian war with Ukraine. In a video message to his family along with others from India, Sufiyan said, “We were cheated”.
In the video which reached their families last month, Sufiyan and his two friends appeared in military fatigues. The three Indian youths blame Faisal Khan, who is accused of recruiting people from India as “helpers” for the Russian Army. Another youth, Mohammed from Hyderabad, is also said to have been taken for a ride by Faisal Khan.
Before finding himself on the Russia-Ukraine war front, Sufiyan was working as a helper in a packing company in Dubai. According to his elder brother Syed Salman (30), Sufiyan was earning Rs 30,000 per month. It was here that he came into contact with Dubai-based Faisal Khan who runs the channel ‘Baba Vlogs’ on YouTube.
Speaking to TNIE, Salman said, “Sufiyan was told that he was being recruited as a helper for the government of Russia and was promised a salary of Rs 1.5 lakh per month apart from Russian citizenship after six months. Faisal did not mention anything about the military.”
Sufiyan has two sisters and elder brother Salman apart from his parents. According to Salman, Sufiyan was “brainwashed” by Faisal and instructed not to tell anyone about his trip to Russia.
“He only informed us once the process was underway,” said Salman. Sufiyan left for Moscow from Chennai on November 17. He has been unreachable for over 20 days now.
Parents left in the dark
Salman has not disclosed the complete truth about Sufiyan’s current situation to his parents. “I told them that he is coming back due to the extreme temperatures in Russia. Now that the media is approaching us, they are shocked,” said Salman.Salman lamented that they do not know how to proceed.
“I do not know English and do not know what to write to the Ministry (of External Affairs),” he said. He has been requesting the media persons who approach him to take up the issue on ‘X’ and tag External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.”
Request to EAM
Salman added, “My brother’s life is under threat. I request the External Affairs Minister and the Indian Embassy to help his early discharge, before it is too late.”
